Collecting has become an ingrained part of the American culture. Some of the best known types of collectibles are playing cards and sports trading cards. Because collectibles are, naturally, often valuable, there has developed an industry offering numerous products which can protect collections in a manner that is considered at the same time both professional and inexpensive. However, the concept of “protection” within this industry is generally considered synonymous with “storage.” The majority of protective means and devices that have been made available to consumers for their collections, whether expensive or inexpensive, have been designed to protect items in secured, non-readily-visible storage. The emphasis on protection has not, to the contrary, been geared towards providing for the showcasing of collectibles for easy viewing on a wall, for example, the way that posters and artwork are typically displayed. Collection holders/protectors, ranging from cheap to expensive, are most commonly designed with the intention that collectible items will be stored in drawers, closets or safes. In the event that actual display of a collection is desired, a collector will usually go to a professional frame-maker and make a large financial investment in a display frame ore case.
One of the primary disadvantages of this method, apart from the obvious high cost, is that these usually custom-made display frames and cases most often only showcase a few of the choicest items in a collection. For instance, in the case of a trading card collection, only the most valuable or attractive cards are usually placed under one solid sheet of glass or protective-coated translucent plastic and these can not easily be re-arranged without taking apart the professionally made frame/case, which is characteristically not designed to be opened.
While it is true that some inexpensive card display systems do exist in the form of transparent vinyl sheets having pockets to hold cards, these have distinct disadvantages as they: a) entirely encase, and therefore cover, the card making viewing of the card less aesthetically pleasing; b) limit to a pre-determined and fixed number (usually 9, 12, or 16) the number of cards that can be inserted into the sheet pockets; c) are not designed to form an attractive, inter-linking display of the pockets which would permit an entire, large collection to be showcased in a professional manner; d) are fixed in size, which means that: in the instance when a card is much smaller than the pocket size, these sheets offer an unattractive display, and in the instance when the card is even just slightly larger than the pockets, the sheets become entirely useless. Such card display sheets, moreover, are generally entirely unsuited to displaying other collectibles, such as photographs, since conventional sizing of trading cards and, for instance, photographs, is different.
The primary alternate option for displaying cards and photographs is the traditional push-pin/thumbtack & cork bulletin-board method. Yet another display alternative is the traditional affixing of tape or supposedly “removable” poster tack/gum to the card or photograph which subsequently gets applied directly onto a wall. Most collectors find these methods to be bad for both the wall and/or for the display items themselves. Magnets are also relied upon to hold display items, but their use is almost exclusively confined to refrigerators or magnetically-painted walls. Magnets have the disadvantage that they cover a portion of the image in an unsightly manner. The same is true for another method which has gained slightly in popularity during the past decade—but only slightly—that being a rigid-backed board in conjunction with criss-crossing ribbons into which, typically, photographs are displayed. The disadvantages of covering a portion of the display item are significant since important information may be obscured.
None of the prior art recognizes the need to solve the problem of displaying multiple items, potentially items of differing sizes, and particularly, of displaying multiple items in a manner that does not significantly limit the number of display items; none of the prior art discloses integrally molding an increased slope to increase tension useful towards increasing the holding pressure exerted on display item(s); none of the prior art discloses the advantage of having a transparent upper plate to provide an unobscured view of the display item(s); obviously, the application of prior art towards multi-item displays has never been conceived of prior to the object of this invention, otherwise its commercial success already would have been established.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,849 to ROYER, an improved device for grasping and holding together a group of papers is disclosed which is specifically designed for holding together a group of papers in the manner of a traditional paper clip. This clip offers on one sole section for grasping papers. Moreover, one of the objects indicates that Royer was only addressing his device towards groups of papers and the need to have the edges of the papers aligned flush to each other, on top of another. An object of the subject invention states that it is to provide an improved device for grasping together otherwise loose papers in a manner so that the sides and top of edges of paper members are substantially aligned and even with one another. Royer does not justify the reasoning behind which such an effect is desirable, but it may be inferred that the application of the object of this invention was not for display. The reason for this inference is that most often papers grouped together are for storage, which only makes sense since any papers following the top sheet are not usually visible.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,765 to SUNGBERG discloses the concept of a paper clip as a key ring item. Considering that few people typically walk around holding their keys with papers dangling for their key ring, and further, considering that even one or two keys would be too heavy for the pressure of the clip to maintain its contact with papers to which the keys and clip would be attached, this invention seems particularly impractical. As a per-clipping item separate and apart from its use in coordination with a key-ring concept, this clip notion is entirely obvious to one skilled in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,436 to LEFKOWITZ discloses an apparatus for simultaneously displaying a plurality of photographs, pictures, cards, and the like. However, as is typical of prior art in this field, the number of display panels are fixed in a relatively expensive frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,818 to BRAMHALL discloses a frame having moveably sliding “carriers” which slide within a framework. The number of display panels, in this prior art invention are fixed in a relatively expensive frame.
There is a need for an inexpensively produced device which can display items including, but not limited to, trading cards, playing cards or photographs, electronic viewscreens, or most any other type of relatively thin item to be displayed in an attractive manner; one which can accommodate virtually any size display item, and that can hold a potentially limitless number of display items without damaging the items in ways that push pins/thumb tacks and tape do, and also which will not obscure the item being held. In addition, there is a need for a device/system which requires only basic instructions in order for it to be easily used.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and claims.